A scourer is generally used to wash various kitchen utensils and containers of various purposes. There are various types of scourers, such as a mesh type formed of a mesh body and a sponge type containing a piece of sponge therein.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a scourer of mesh type according to a conventional art, and FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a state in which the mesh-type scourer is used to clean a recessed portion of a container.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a mesh-type scourer 1 according to a conventional art has a mesh body 2 like a net which has a sparse and/or dense mesh and can be easily bent or folded. When using the scourer, a user first soaks the mesh-type scourer 1 with cleaning liquid and scrubs dirt or grease off the surfaces of various forms of containers using the wet mesh-type scourer 1.
However, it is difficult to clean a recessed portion of a container 3 using the mesh-type scourer 1 as illustrated in FIG. 2 because the mesh-type scourer 1 of the conventional art is too soft and flexible to be inserted into the recessed portion 4 of the container 3 and to remove dirt from the recessed portion. In order to solve the problem attributable to the softness and flexibility, it is advisable to fold the mesh-type scourer 1 multiple times when using the mesh-type scourer so that the mesh-type scourer 1 becomes stiffer. However, in this case, the stiffness of the mesh-type scourer 1 is not enough and it becomes more difficult to make the scourer to enter into the recessed portion 4 due to the increased thickness of the mesh-type scourer 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a sponge-type scourer according to another conventional art, and FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a state in which the sponge-type scourer is used to clean a recessed portion of a container.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, a sponge-type scourer 5 according to a conventional art includes a piece of sponge 6 and a mesh body which has a sparse and/or dense mesh, is flexible so as to be bent or folded, and encloses the sponge 6. The sponge-type scourer 5 further includes side edge portions 7 which are flat and formed by subjecting respective open end portions of the mesh body 2 to heat plate bonding. When using the sponge-type scourer 5, a user first soaks the sponge-type scourer 5 with cleaning liquid and scrubs off dirt or great attached to the surfaces of various forms of containers using the wet sponge-type scourer. In this case, the user can clean a recessed portion 4 of a container 3 by inserting the flat side edge portions 7 into the recessed portion 4, as shown in FIG. 4.
In this case, although the side edge portions 7 of the sponge-type scourer 5 can be inserted into the recessed portion 4 of the container 3 as illustrated in FIG. 4, it is difficult to remove the dirt from the recessed portion 4 because the side edge portions 7 have insufficient stiffness or rigidity. Further, since the entire side edge portions 7 of the sponge-type scourer 5 are flat, the dirt in the recessed portion 4 of the container 3 is difficult to be removed and is sometimes pressed.